Photo credit: Project Employ NZ. Opening of Flourish Café at Air New Zealand Hub, Auckland.
July 2024
Flourish Café is a training café for young people with disabilities. It provides a stepping stone for young adults with intellectual or learning differences to become work ready. The initiative is not just about offering fresh seasonal food and excellent coffee and sweet treats. Ultimately, it’s about providing training and employment opportunities which can change lives.
Located in Auckland, New Zealand, Flourish Café was made possible by a partnership between Air New Zealand’s Enable Network1 and Project Employ, a charity that helps young people with disabilities learn the skills they need to gain meaningful employment in the community.
Founded in 2017 by Sarah Dann-Hoare, Project Employ has a Mission:
to help young people with intellectual disabilities or learning differences find and retain meaningful, paid employment by providing employability and life skills training in a community-based setting; to give them a sense of direction, purpose and belonging within their local community; to remove barriers to work by establishing relationships with local companies; to give young people with intellectual disabilities or learning differences the life choices that others take for granted.
Project Employ initiatives like Flourish Café demonstrate that employing young adults with intellectual disability gives them an opportunity that can change their lives, as well as benefit the business with the diverse skills talents and abilities that they bring.
It’s a fabulous example of social enterprise.
FPG was commissioned by Air New Zealand in partnership with Wildfire Commercial Kitchens and Bars to design, construct and install the café counter, food display cabinet, and rear bench.
Our Design Team Leader started with the concept. The layout was designed with a number of individual workstations for coffee, food presentation and services.
FPG Design team create a concept of Flourish Café as per design brief.
FPG worked with Air New Zealand and Wildfire Commercial Kitchens and Bars to select materials and finishes including the LED lighting.
The countertop was constructed from High Pressure Laminate (HPL) Snow Drift White. This contrasts with the front facia panels which were finished with Formica Black Velour and underlit with vibrant purple LED lighting. The front facia incorporated an inset panel finished in Classic Oak Puregrain with a lower set-down bench to accommodate wheelchair access. FPG supplied appliances including the Inline Barista milk drawer and Inline 3000 refrigerated food display cabinet.
Flourish Café in production at FPG manufacturing plant.
Flourish Café front counter rear view in production at FPG manufacturing plant.
The rear counter was for services. Below the stainless steel bench and sink, glass racks, dishwasher, freezer, rubbish bin and storage cabinet were all fitted with rear joinery containing voids to accommodate service feeds for power and plumbing.
The fit out was completed by FPG and Wildfire Commercial Kitchens and Bars over two days. Read more about this story in the February 2024 issue of Air New Zealand inflight magazine Kia Ora: Everyone Counts
Find out more about Project Employ.
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1Air New Zealand Enable Network supports employees with disabilities or employees who are caring for someone with disabilities.